April 9, 2009: Compost is like an iceberg

Hello: Who would have thought a pile of compost could create such a stir? The Rodale Institute’s donation to the USDA of about 10 cubic yards of this biologically robust soil amendment has generated amazing excitement across the country. It’s a matter of “small garden, big symbolism” due to its being in the right place (the USDA’s front yard) at the right time (the USDA Secretary speaking positively of organic agriculture).

But, then, compost is like an iceberg, isn’t it? Different color, but the pile that’s visible now above the ground has a much bigger profile below in the months after it’s applied.

By merely combining brown things (high-carbon and usually drier) and green things (high-nitrogen and usually juicier) to get a reasonably moist pile somewhere outside in a well-drained place, then leaving them alone for a long enough time, you get compost. Simple technique, but a complex product that stabilizes the nutrients that made it, encourages biological diversity in the soil, and improves soil structure to hold water better while resisting erosion.

Systemic change: As compost and cover crops (starting with field peas) change the USDA’s former paved walkway area into rich soil, we want to be just as active in increasing the organic nature of thinking within the halls of the USDA. If everything goes as expected, the beds will be certified organic in 2012, a whole year before the end of this administration. What else is possible in regenerating U.S. farm policy to shift dollars from aiding and abetting chemically farmed commodities to supporting organically farmed crops, and from pushing crop yield with minimal ecological reckoning to valuing how much carbon can be put in the soil while still producing high-value crops and reducing ag pollution?

These basic sustainability questions are rushing to the fore as the vulnerability of our nation’s food supply becomes increasingly obvious. Chemical agriculture takes for granted fossil fuel-based synthesized toxics and fertility, cheap transportation, high technology fees and declining soil carbon. We want to join the rest of the organic farming community in helping the USDA to chart clear alternatives that capture current (solar) energy via crops and pasture within natural systems that build soils and serve markets in carbon-accountable ways. Read more>>

H₂O & climate: We’ve all become accustomed to having water where and when we need it. Check the sobering lessons being learned in California’s Central Valley from a prolonged regional drought that’s highlighting our vulnerability to increasing weather extremes. With this story, we bid a reluctant farewell to diligent Communications Intern Genevieve Slocum, and wish her well in her environmental policy graduate work at Columbia University. Read more>>

Getting social: You’ll notice on our homepage, right under the “Institute Blog” button, that we’re now on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. We’re just getting started to build and maintain connections in these new ways. You can “follow” us on the former and “friend” us on the latter to keep in touch between updates, and find out when we add fresh entries to our blog. Activity will pick up this summer, so come aboard now to help steer us in good directions.

Celebrate Spring, wherever you are.
Greg Bowman at the Rodale Institute